Captain America's Underdog
by StarlightMoon98
Summary: NOTE: if you haven't read the first two stories there is a spoiler in the first sentence of this story, so i suggest to read the other two first! But anyways, Stella is living with Steve when the winter soldier pops up (Follows the story line of the movie, but with more romance and cool parts and sad parts and- well you get it XD)
1. Chapter 1

"AHHHHHHHHHH! NO! NO!" Stella yelled and jerked violently in her sleep. Steve immediately shot up and shook her. "Stella! Stella" He said. She opened her panicked eyes and looked around terrified with tears in her eyes. "Tony?" She asked for a moment, but suddenly remembered where she was. There was a long silence as Steve hugged her close to his warm body underneath the blankets.  
"Haven't had one of those in a long time." She sighed after a few minutes of silence. After Tony died the nightmares were constant, but soon, they happened less and less. This was the first one she'd had in about 3 weeks-It's been about a year since the accident. It pained Steve to see her like that. It was hard after Tony had died, seeing her wake up like that, screaming in a cold sweat as she desperately searched for Tony when she woke up. After it happened, Rhodey had called a few times to check up on her, but each time she had Steve answer the phone and make up some lame excuse. After a while, he just stopped was silent, just stroking her hair that had grown nearly past her back now.  
"What time is it?" Stella mumbled.  
"5:43" Steve said as he looked over on the dresser at the clock. SHIELD had gotten them a small apartment in Washington with only one bedroom. At first, Steve was sleeping on the couch, but due to Stella feeling bad for him sleeping uncomfortably all the time and also the fact that she felt safer when she was in the same bed as him, they ended up sleeping in the same bed all the time. They were going to stay in Stark Tower, but seeing as that used to be Stella and Tony's home, Stella couldn't step one foot in the building without being reminded of the horrible tradgedies. Banner had felt guilty for Tony's death, though he did nothing wrong. He disappeared to some foreign country again. The other Avengers had all gone their separate ways, doing whatever they wanted until they would be needed again-which was hopefully never. But, for Steve and Stella-they continued doing missions for Fury.  
"You might as well go running like usual-just a couple minutes early." Stella said to Steve. She got up and stretched as she yawned. "I'll drop you off and then pick you back up." She said. He smiled, remembering the first time she decided to go running with him. She couldn't keep up, and by the time Steve had finished his fifth lap, she was still on her first. Now that they lived in Washington, he would run laps around the Washington monument. Steve yawned and stretched and then got into his gray crew neck and gym shorts. Stella had already grabbed the keys and was waiting in the car. She and Steve both knew he could just jog there himself, but Stella liked taking him back and forth.  
"I'll be back in 30." Stella said as she pecked Steve on the lips. "See you then" He smiled as he kissed her again. As he began his jog, He saw another man out running- looked like a soldier. He whizzed passed him, calling out "On your left" Each time, seeing the man shake his head as he laughed. Steve was rounding the corner as he heard the man.  
"Don't say it. Don't say it" Steve smiled.  
"On your left." And he quickly passed, hearing the man yell "Come on!" After a couple more laps, he joined the man, who was now out of breath sitting by a tree.  
"Need a medic?" Steve joked.  
"I need a new pair of lungs. Man, how'd you do that-That was like 13 miles in 30 minutes."  
"Well, I usually do more" Steve laughed.  
"You should be ashamed of yourself." The man joked. "Go do another one" There was a pause. "Let me guess, you just did? I assuemed you just did."  
"What unit you in?" Steve asked  
"58th para rescue, now im working down at the VA." He reached out his hand. "Sam Wilson."  
"Steve Rogers" He said as he helped the friendly guy up.  
"I kinda put that together. Mustve freaked you out coming home after the whole defrosting."  
Steve sighed as he looked around. "Takes some getting used to." He smiled and walked away "Good to meet you Sam"  
"It's your bed right?" Sam stopped him.  
"What's that?" He asked  
"Your bed. It's too soft. When I was over there I would sleep on the ground and use rocks for pillows like a caveman. Now I'm home, and layin in my bed is like-"  
"Laying on a marshmellow" Steve said, knowing the feeling. "Feel like im going to sink right through the floor." Sam smiled at Steve. "How long?" Steve asked, referring to how long he was out at war.  
"2 tours. You mustve missed the good old days, huh?" He asked  
"Well….things aren't so bad. Food is a lot better, we used to boil everything. No polio is good. Internet-been reading that a lot, trying to catch up." His phone suddenly beeped. Stella was at the corner and had just been informed that they had another mission. "Sorry Sam, duty calls." He said. 'Thanks for the run-if that's what you wanna call running" Sam raised his eyebrows.  
"Oh that's how it is? Ok" He laughed. "Hey anytime you wanna stop by the VA to make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know."  
"I'll keep it in mind" Suddenly, a farari engine revved loudly. Stella (already in uniform) rolled down the window.  
"Anyone know where the Smithsonian is- I'm here to pick up a fossil" She joked.  
"That's hilarious" Steve said as he got inside the blacked out sports car.  
"Where's the mission and when do we start?" Steve asked her  
"Well. Its in the middle of the Indian ocean, and we start as soon as we get there." She grinned.


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find the main leader of this thing. Stella, you secure the engine room and shut it down. You" Steve said, pointing at the soldier, "Get all the hostages safe and onto life rafts. Let's go."  
"Nearing the drop zone" A voice said as the back of the aircraft opened up. Steve was putting on his mask as he turned around and smiled and Stella before jumping onto the foggy night.  
"Hey!" A man said startled. "Was that guy wearing a parachute!?"  
Stella laughed. "No. No he wasn't"  
Steve pierced through the air and landed smoothly into the brisk water. He climbed easily up a chain to the ship where he silently took down a guard. He ran up to the other two and slammed his shield at one as he flipped the other one over himself before hitting him with the shield also. He ran and kicked one off the edge of the ship and continued to skillfully pummel any and all of the guards he saw. He wasted no time and no effort overpowering the guards as he made his way across the ship. He'd thrown a knife through one guards hand as he tried to sound the alarm unsuccessfully. A guard was lunging at Steve when he suddenly dropped down.  
"Thanks" Steve said to the Soldier that had shot him.  
"Yea. You seemed pretty helpless without me" He joked as he undid the straps of the parachute.  
"Sorry we're late-no, actually you were early." Stella joked as she easily slipped off her parachute and began walking.  
"Secure the engine room" He reminded with a smile. They broke off into separate ways as Stella gracefully swung herself over the railings to the bottom level. She was sneaking up on one of the guards who was preoccupied on the phone, speaking Russian. He turned around and stopped as he was face to face with her while she leaned casually against a ladder.  
"Hey sailor" She smiled in a flirtatious way. She suddenly kicked the man, most likely snapping his leg with the force as she wrapped a cord around his throat and pulled him forward, using his body as a harness, sliding down the cord as she shot guards on every floor on the way down.  
"Targets acquired" A man whispered into the walkie talkie. "Strike in position"  
"Stella, what's your status?" Steve asked. Stella was busy dealing with three guards as she kicked and swung on them.  
"Status Stella." Steve urged.  
"Hang on!" She said as she electrocuted one. She moved on to the next one and wrapped her legs around his neck, swinging him into the ground and kicking him. "Engine room secure" She said as she grabbed a metal pipe and swung it on the last guard.  
"On my mark" Steve said to the men that had the hostage situation under control. "3…2…One." Shots were fired, breaking the glass and killing all of the terrorists inside.  
"Agent S missed the randeveu point, captain." A soldier said as Steve chased down the boss. "Hostiles are still in play" The man continued.  
"Stella. Boss is on the move. He's circling back I need you to get to the hostages and keep them protected." Steve said. There was no answer. "Stella?" He suddenly dodged a kick that hit his shield. It was the boss. He threw a couple more kicks as he dodged attacks from Steve. He was able to kick Steve to the ground for a moment but the Captain wasted no time getting up. After dodging multiple punches and strategic kicks, he threw the shield, causing the man to fly backwards. They went t it for a while, looking like the most skilled fighters, maneuvering every which way. Eventually, Steve had knocked the down with a powerful drop kick to the face and then ran him into the door, knocking it down and bringing them into a room full of computers. He punched the man hard and he was knocked out cold.  
"Well, this is awkward." Stella said, not taking her eyes off of the computer she was furiously typing on.  
"What are you doing?" He asked as he got up and walked towards her.  
"Backing up the hard drive- it's a good habit to get into."  
"Rumlow needed your help, what the hell are you doing here?" He looked at the screens, studying them closely. "Your saving SHIELD Intel…"  
"Whatever I can get my hands on-"  
"Our mission was to rescue hostages" He said angrily.  
"No. that's your mission." She said as she pulled out the disc drive. "And you've done it beautifully." She started walking away as he grabbed her arm and held a tight grip. "Steve, don't be so mad. Different mission, big deal. Besides, we promised that we wouldn't let our work effect our relationship.  
"Big deal? You just jeopardized this whole operation" He said through gritted teeth.  
"That's a little overstating-" They were interrupted by the man who was thought to be knocked out got up and ran after throwing a grenade. He tried to hit it back but it didn't work. They had only seconds as he grabbed Stella by the waist and picked her up and ran. He jumped through the window and they were blown forward from the blast.  
"ok" She said as they breathed heavily, sitting with their backs against the wall. "That one's on me."  
"your damn right" Steve said as he got up and angrily stepped away. Stella sighed and rolled her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

"You just can't stop yourself from lying can you?" Steve said as he barged into Nick's office at SHIELD headquarters.  
"I didn't lie. Agent S had a different mission that yours." Nick said with his elbow casually propped up.  
"but you didn't feel obliged to share."  
"I'm not obliged to do anything."  
"Those hostages could have died Nick."  
"I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn't happen" Nick said as he turned In his chair to face Steve.  
"Soldiers trust each other. That's what makes it an army. Not a bunch of guys running around shooting guns."  
"Last time I trusted somebody I lost an eye" Fury said standing up. "Look. I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent S is comfortable with everything."  
"I can't lead a mission if the people I'm leading have missions of their own." Steve said angrily.  
"Its called compartmentalization. Nobody spills the secrets because nobody knows them all."  
"Except you." Steve shot. Fury paused and fixed his posture.  
"Your wrong about me." He said. "I do share. I'm nice like that." They walked into an elevator and Steve was granted access to project insight.  
"This is project insight." Fury explained as Steve looked around in awe at a hangar underneath the building that had tons of ships and aircrafts with three of the biggest aircrafts he'd ever seen. "three next generation heli-carriers synced to a network of targeting satellites. Once we get them in the air they never need to come down. New long range precision guns can eliminate a thousand hostiles in a minute. The satellites can read a terrorists DNA before he steps outside to smoke. We're gonna neutralize a lot of threats with this project." Steve wasn't happy with the project, and he knew Stella would have already known about it. But he couldn't get mad at her- She's bound to secrecy. He went on home, where Stella was sitting on the couch watching a movie.  
"Hey." Steve said as he leaned up on the door. Stella thought for sure he wasn't going to be talking to her for a while.  
"Hi." There was a pause as Steve sat on the couch next to her.  
"Nick showed me project insight. I figured aside from him you were the first to know about it." Stella was quiet, not knowing what to say.  
"About the other night- I'm sorry. I should've at least told you that I had a different mission so-"  
"Stella, it's fine. I understand how Nick works. It's not your fault that you can't explain what your missions are. I just wish he'd let me in on it to so I don't look like an idiot all the time." It was quiet again. Stella cleared her throat.  
"There's a museum about you. A whole building, commemorating you. I was wondering if you wanted to go see it with me. I want to learn more about you." She said, looking into his eyes. He smiled, liking the sound of that.  
"Yea, let me go change, that sounds fun."

At the museum there were so many big pictures of Steve everywhere, thanking him for his service and calling him a legend. It almost made Steve feel full of himself. He laughed as he walked by with Stella's hand in his. He was wearing a low hat so people wouldn't recognize him. It would be an inconvenience if they did. "The story of captain America is one of courage, bravery, and sacrifice." A voice recording read.  
"What is this?" Stella said with a smile as she walked up to a picture of a scrawny boy. "Is that you" She giggled. The picture of him stated that he was only 95 pounds and 5'4.  
"Yea, yea. Laugh it up" He smiled. She studied the picture more then looked over at him. "I think you were cute." She smiled warmly. Steve could only remember one other person saying that-Peggy. Peggy was the first woman to pay any kind of attention to him before he was Captain America. She'd loved him before all of this, and he loved her just as much, if not more. They looked around at more statues and displays of everything Captain America. They stopped at a glass wall with writing carved all the way down. Steve stopped and studied the picture.  
"What's wrong." She asked, seeing the sadness on his face. He shook his head and sighed. "Bucky Barnes. My best friend since childhood, we were basically inseparable. He stayed with me through everything." Stella looked around to see little old time video clips of Bucky and Steve. They looked like brothers and in every video they could be seen laughing together or helping each other on the battle field. "I'm sorry." Stella whispered. They stood for a moment longer before going into a room, where a woman was on a screen answering interview questions. It was Peggy. Steve felt a sadness as he watched the video. Peggy would always be his first love, and he still felt something as he looked at her on the screen. He squeezed Stella's hand. Stella also knew who the woman was. They were quiet.  
"You can go see her." She said. " I can drop you off- If you want." Steve looked at her with surprise. She was still alive? How long had Stella known this and not said anything? He didn't think about it- it wasn't right to ask questions like that, he was sure Stella could never bring the topic up. "Yea. Yea, that'd be…thank you." He said. Once to the senior home she took him to where Peggy's room was and waited in the waiting room. They'd talked for a while, catching up, laughing and talking about anything. She was in her late 80s by now and looked in rough shape, but she was happy to see him. Steve had finally said his goodbyes- something he wasn't able to do before he froze. They both knew he wouldn't visit a second time, he just had to see her and fix things. He felt better as he walked out. He smiled at Stella as he saw her asleep in the waiting room. He easily lifted her up and brought her back home. Sure, he'd loved Peggy, but Stella was the one he would spend the rest of his life with and he was happy when he was with her.


	4. Chapter 4

"All I'm saying is that I don't understand why everybody is in love with this Channing guy" Steve said as he and Stella walked up the stairs to his apartment. They had just gone to see a new movie.  
"It's Channing Tatum, and did you not see him? How could anybody not love him?" Stella laughed. They stopped as they got to the door, hearing music playing. They glanced at each other. None of them had turned on any music. Stella reached for her gun quietly as Steve opened the door stealthily. He grabbed his shield sitting by the door and the two carefully and cautiously rounded the corners of the apartment. Steve stopped and leaned against the wall as he saw Nick sitting casually in a chair.  
"I don't remember giving you a key." He said. Nick grunted in pain as he sat up.  
"You really think I'd need one?" He asked. "My wife kicked me out."  
"I didn't know you were married." Stella said as she lowered her guard and stepped from behind the wall, putting her gun away.  
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me."  
Steve turned on the lights. "That's the problem." He muttered. He looked over to see Nick covered in blood. Stella opened her mouth and gasped. Fury put his finger to his mouth, signaling to be quiet as he turned the light back off. Fury showed his phone to Steve, it read "Ears everywhere.". Someone was listening. Steve and Stella looked at each other anxiously.  
"I'm sorry to have to do this to you, but I had no other place to crash." He said as he typed some more. This time, the phone said "Shield compromised"  
"Who else knows about your wife" Stella said, trying to figure out how to get information. Nick got up painfully, revealing the phone to say "You and Steve" He continued the fake conversation. "Just my friends."  
"Is that what we are?" Steve said, eying Nick's wounds.  
"That's up to you." Suddenly, bullets shot loudly through the wall, all three shots hitting Nick as he crumbled to the ground.  
"NICK!" Stella cried. Steve quickly pulled him to cover as Nick grabbed his arm and handed him a disc drive.  
"Don't….trust….anyone" He said through labored breaths, blood dripping from his mouth.  
"Steve! I'm going in pursuit!" Stella yelled as she saw a figure run. She followed after him, not listening to Steve yell no as she jumped out of the window to the next building. She ignored the glass that had shattered and pierced through her skin as she quickly got up and ran after the man. She had to get up to where he was. She felt Steve running right behind her and she slowed down, only for a minute to let him get in front of her to clear a path. He busted through walls and glass as they ran as fast as they could. Finally, they slammed through a window, tumbling onto another rooftop. Steve was the first to get up and wasted no time throwing his shield at the killer. Stella watched in horror as the man turned around and caught the shield with no effort, throwing it back at Steve, who slid from the impact. The next thing you know, he's gone.

Stella had to file a report before anything else to hide the identity of shield from the police and other government executives that shouldn't know about the secret operation. Once done, She rushed to the hospital, running to Steve's side, watching through a window as doctors tried to revive Nick.  
"Is he gonna make it…" She asked, not wanting to watch the doctors operate.  
" I don't know" Steve said quietly. It was quiet. The beeping on the monitor got faster as the doctors rushed around, shouting things. Stella watched in horror as they tried to use a defibulator to get Nicks heart to start pumping. Each time he was shocked sent a wave of sadness over Stella."Don't do this Nick" She whispered in a shaky breath. She couldn't. She'd just started getting over Tony's death. Eventually, the monitor came to a constant beep. The doctors stopped what they were doing and stared at the ground for a moment. Steve watched as tears dripped from Stella's eyes. She was trying so hard to keep her composure, to not break down at that very moment. Once the doctors cleared the room, Stella slowly walked in, a blank look on her face. Steve followed her, but stood against the wall. She stood in front of Nick's body with her arms crossed, not making a movement of any kind or a sound. The silence continued for a moment.  
"They need to take him" An agent told Steve quietly. Steve was putting on a brave face. He sighed and walked up to Stella, who had tears still dripping.  
"….Stella…" He said. She understood. She stood for a moment longer before she put her hand against Nick's forehead. "Say hi to Coulson and Tony for me" She whispered through sobs and walked away. Steve chased after her.  
"Stella, I-"  
"Steve." Stella stopped, not turning around and keeping her head down. "I can't….I just…..I need to be alone right now. Please." She said, just loud enough for him to hear. He stood there as he watched her walk away. He knew this was the last thing she'd needed.  
"Captain." The soldier called Rumlow said. "They need you at SHIELD." Steve nodded in acknowledgement and stood for a moment longer, taking in all that had happened and hanging his head down. He had to keep it together. He had to be strong , at least for Stella's sake.


	5. Chapter 5

Stella stood outside, regaining her composure. She shouldn't have said that to Steve, this is hard for him too. She sighed and sat down on a bench as Steve walked out. He looked at her and then looked away, walking with his head down towards his motorcycle. He was avoiding her now, since he didn't know how he could comfort her he figured it'd be better not to bother with her. Stella realized this also.

"Steve" She said. He stopped and turned around to see her wipe her tears. She would be brave, like him. She would keep her composure calm and stay strong for Nick. For Tony, Steve, Coulson- for everyone. "Can we go home?" She asked as she walked up to him. She paused as she remembered what happened back at the apartment. "Or a hotel" She said quietly, fighting with the lump in her throat. He knew he had to go to SHIELD, but they can wait, so he decided he would go first thing in the morning. He pulled her close and squeezed her. "Yea." He said softly as she felt the bass in his voice through his defined chest. They got to the hotel and had a rough night-Neither could get to sleep. Though Stella said she would be strong she ended up crying herself to sleep, cuddled up against Steve, who had a restless night. They both slept in a little to make up for the long night, so it was about 11 in the afternoon when they awoke. They had jumped in the shower and put on their SHIELD uniforms.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to" Steve assured.

Stella shook her head. "No, it's ok. I'll go." She was quiet today. When they got there, they were introduced to Alexander pierce. He had suggested that Nick was the one who set up the "pirates" to take over the ship. Stella had let Steve do all the talking, mainly because she refused to cry in front of anybody else.

"If you really knew Nick Fury you'd know that's not true." Steve said angrily.

"Why do you think we're talking?" He said after a silence. He got up and walked to the window. "See I took a seat on the council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to. Because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking, That to build a really better world, Sometimes means having to tear the old one down." He looked over at Steve. "And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because your willing to stick your hands in the mud in order to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today- it makes me really, really, angry." There was a long silence. "Captain, you and Agent S were the last one's to see Nick alive. I don't think that was an accident…and I don't think you do either. So, I'm gonna ask again. Why was he there?"

"He told me not to trust anyone."

"I wonder….If that included him." He said, more of a thought than a statement.

"I'm sorry." Steve said. "Those were his last words. Excuse us." He said as he grabbed Stella's hand and began walking out.

"Captain, Agent S…." He called. "Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way they're gonna regret it. Anyone." He said, slightly menacingly. Stella opened her mouth to say something, but Steve squeezed her hand lightly, signaling for her not to say anything she'd regret.

"Understood." He said and then walked out. Stella sighed as they walked down the Hallway.

"I hate that guy." She said.

"You and me both." He agreed. He walked into the elevator and called out the floor he was going to. The door was stopped just in time for Rumlow and two other soldiers to get onto the elevator. He nodded in acknowledgement at the couple. Stella looked down at one of the men. He had his hand on his gun and was looking out of the window, seemingly anxious. She looked over at Steve who had also noticed. The elevator stopped as four more men crowded into the elevator. Steve noticed one of the men idly talking, sweat drops dripping from his forehead. At another stop, three more men packed into the elevator, leaving little room. Stella had pushed her back against Steve so there was more room. She observed the men. They were all giving off weird vibes that made her nervous. Steve had put the pieces together easily. "Before we get started" He said "Anyone wanna get off?"

The man in front whipped out an electric baton and shocked Stella with it as another man grabbed her. Another one hit the stop button on the elevator. The men put a highly magnetic cuff onto Steve, but he was quick to react, as was Stella. There was much going on as everybody was fighting somebody. Steve landed kicks and punches as Stella slammed a man's face into the glass wall, cracking it a little. She reached for her gun when she was suddenly tazed and it was taken out of her hand. A man had her by the waist as he held the taser up to her neck. Steve quickly kicked the man, leaving Stella twitching from the shock. Rumlow had kicked Steve's arm up, causing the cuff to connect with the wall, almost unbreakable. He started beating Steve with the electric baton when Stella wrapped her arm around him in a chokehold. He swung around and slammed her against the wall a few times. Steve managed to get out of the cuff and defeated the remaining guards easily with Stella's help.

"What the hell" Stella said with heavy breaths. She pressed the elevator button to reveal at least 15 men all in armed uniform aiming guns at them. Steve reacted quickly used his shield to break the cables, causing the elevator to drop a few floors before it kicked in the emergency system and stopped. They were out of luck, though. He pulled open the elevator doors to see more guards and quickly letting it close back.

"Give it up Rogers, open that door!" A voice yelled. Steve looked out of the glass. They were at least 20 stories high with a glass-roofed building below them. Steve looked at Stella. "Do you trust me?" e asked as he tightened his shield around his arm.

"Do I have a choice?" She asked as she realized what he was doing. She grabbed onto him and he held tightly onto her slim frame. "This may hurt." He said as he busted through the window. They dropped down and let Steve's shield break through the roof as they heard people scream. They landed on the floor, blocked by the shield, but still knocking all the breath out of the two. They grunted in pain as they helped each other up and wasted no time running. They'd gotten onto his motorcycle just in time to get over the bridge before it was locked down. Ahead of them, large spikes came up from the ground as a heli-jet flew in front of them.

"Stand down!" A voice yelled over the PA as large guns appeared. Stella stood up on the back of the motorcycle, balancing carefully. Steve threw the shield, breaking the gun as Stella climbed onto his back. He braked hard and went flying, landing on the windshield of the jet. He quickly grabbed his shield and used it to destroy the engines and grabbed Stella's hand, jumping off of the aircraft as it plummeted into the ground, causing an explosion. Stella was disoriented as Steve grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

"Get somewhere, lay low for a while. Change into something that will disguise you. I'll call you from a payphone soon." He said. He stopped as he looked at her. Stella almost kissed him until he ran and turned, leaving her. She knew where he was going, and she was going to beat him there. Fury gave him something, something important, something secretive, She saw where Steve hid it and she was going to find out what was so important about it.


End file.
